The Entrepreneurship Chronicle
Zero Million - The Entrepreneurship Chronicle
  The Entrepreneurship Chronicle :: July 2010 Issue :: 59

Editor: Ryan Allis
Sent With: iContact


QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test."

~Elbert Hubbard


Dear [fname],

Welcome to the Entrepreneurship Chronicle! I hope you have made progress on your entrepreneurial vision and that you gain value from this issue of The Entrepreneurship Chronicle!

Entrepreneurially Yours,
Ryan P. Allis, CEO
iContact Corp.
2635 Meridian Parkway
Durham, NC
www.iContact.com


   Table of Contents
Non-Profit of the Month
Heads Up!

Heads Up!

Heads Up! was founded in 1991 to provide hippotherapy and other therapeutic equine-related activities to individuals in central North Carolina with physical, emotional or developmental disabilities to enhance positive reinforcement and encouragement towards independence; initially established through a start-up grant from the Episcopal Archdiocese of Central North Carolina to offer 3 hours of therapeutic riding a week for 5 students.

Currently, Heads Up! now serves over 30 people each week and staffs a nationally certified riding instructor and a physical therapist. Heads Up! is absolutely dependent on the community for monetary and manpower support.

The horses are calm and collective with everyone they come in contact with, and even small children can work around and ride them without fear. Volunteers can help with horse-related or non-horse related opportunities such as grooming, lunging, training, cleaning/repairing, carpentry, photography, administration and financial, special events and much more!

(To learn more or get involved visit: headsuptrp.org/new/index.php )

Legal Issues for VC Backed Firms
Ryan Allis

Brette Simon of Jones Day is talking about legal issues for VC backed firms. She did a great job and this was a really good refresher. Here are my notes from the session...

Part I - Dos and Don't for VC Backed Companies

(or Companies that want to be Venture Backed)

Not having these things buttoned up can cause investors to not want to invest or provide lower valuations.

1. Shareholder Agreement - Have a shareholders agreement (buy/sell agreement)

2. Corporate Records - Maintain corporate records (make sure you keep Board meeting records, Board approvals, a copy of stock certificates)

3. Board Minutes - If you hold a Board meeting, take minutes, put the minutes in the record book

(Read the Rest of this Article Here....)


Ryan Allis is a technology entrepreneur and social entrepreneur from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is the co-founder and CEO of iContact, the leading global provider of email marketing services to small and mid-sized businesses.

3 Simple Steps to Taking a Quantum Leap in your Business
Michele Pariza Wacek

If you want to grow your business, there are 2 ways you can go about it. Slow and fast. Most people end up growing their business slowly. Now there's nothing wrong with slow. It's not easy to grow your business period, so even growing your business slowly is better than what a lot of entrepreneurs do.

So let's talk about fast. Another way to view growing your business quickly is by taking a quantum leap, which basically means you leap frog ahead versus taking your growth one step at a time. Taking a quantum leap means transforming your business quickly. It means going from $200,000 to a million in a year. It means seeing opportunities fly to you effortlessly.

So if you want a quantum leap, how do you get one? Here are 3 steps to get you started:

1. Think big. Taking a quantum leap isn't going to work if you're thinking small. So the first thing you need to do is make sure you're thinking big. And, maybe even more than that, make sure you're READY for your business to BECOME big. If you're not comfortable or if there's some blocks or obstacles around you growing your business to its fullest potential, you'll never have a quantum leap.

(Read the Rest of this Article Here....)


Michele Pariza Wacek is your Ka-Ching! Marketing strategist and owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC, a copywriting and marketing agency.

How to Influence Employees Without Using Positional Authority
Tony Kubica and Sara LaForest

Can you achieve results without authority? The simple answer is yes. The challenge is how to do it.

Each of us have a limited amount of authority. And the positional authority that comes with our title enables us to have some influence, but far less than what is required to get the work done. In order to get things done on time and with the highest quality expected so you can meet the demands and expectations of our customers and those with whom we work, we need to rely on others. And to do that, we need influence - but the right kind of influence.

Influence is a Leadership Quality and a Management Skill

Influence is the ability to achieve our objective (to get work done) when we do not have complete control or enough authority to accomplish our objective. Influence is not manipulation.

(Read the Rest of this Article Here....)


Sara Laforest and Tony Kubica have 50+ years of combined experience in helping small and large businesses accelerate their business growth in record times.

Zero to One Million: How I Built My Company to $1 Million in Sales . . . and How You Can, Too
Ryan Allis

Book Description

Do You Want to Become a Multi-Millionaire Entrepreneur? Here's How.

By the time Ryan Allis had reached the age of twenty-one, he had achieved the financial goal most people just dream about: He built his company to one million in sales. Allis has since grown his company iContact Corp., a provider of Web-based email marketing and online communication software, to $28 million per year in sales, and has helped numerous clients increase their sales dramatically.

Now Allis shares the secrets of his lightning-fast success with you. In Zero to One Million, he details his simple yet innovative evaluation system of "Market-Advantages-Return" to help you determine if your business idea is viable. Once you have a solid foundation, you can apply his advice for successfully running your business-from initial planning to managing high-speed growth.

  • Evaluate your business idea using the innovative MAR system
  • Write a business plan sure to excite your investors
  • Launch your company with minimal expenditure
  • Boost online sales using cutting-edge marketing strategies
  • Watch all your hard work transform into millions

Did you know that eighty-one percent of millionaires are entrepreneurs? Join the pantheon of successful businessmen and women with Zero to One Million.

About the Author

Ryan P. Allis is CEO of iContact Corp., a venture-backed email marketing and online communications firm that has grown from nothing to over $32 million in annual sales with over 59,000 customers and 190 employees. Ryan is also the Chairman of the web marketing firm Virante, Inc.

(Buy the Book....)

Connect With Ryan
Connect Via Facebook

Do you have a Facebook account? If so, Ryan's on Facebook too. Just look up Ryan Allis (the one at UNC-Chapel Hill). Send Ryan a message or a friend request.

Connect Via Linked In Ryan also uses LinkedIn. If you want to connect to Ryan on Linked in just look him up and send a connection request to allisr [at] icontact.com.

Follow on Twitter

Or Follow Ryan on Twitter: ryanallis

Don't have Facebook or LinkedIn but still want to ask Ryan a question? Feel free to email Ryan at allisr [at] icontact.com. Thank you!

Closing Notes

This concludes issue #59 of The Entrepreneurship Chronicle. If you are not subscribed and would like to subscribe, please visit http://www.zeromillion.com. If you would like to contribute content, become involved with the zeromillion.com team, make suggestions, or provide feedback please feel free to contact us at info@virante.com.

This newsletter is published by www.zeromillion.com with support from the Entrepreneurs' Coalition. The newsletter is sent using the iContact email marketing software.

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